- Advertising campaign lived up to their good reputation
- Theme edition pays homage to the heyday of the company from Ulm
- Their prototypes were held to be indestructible
Brandishing the silhouette of Ulm’s Münster cathedral, the air-cooled howlers were unmistakable – and became even more distinctive when Magirus shaped their powerful image in an advertising campaign promoting the vehicles. Named the “German Bulls”, the advertisement evolved into a major head-turner early on in the nineteen seventies. Magirus had aspirations to ascend to the Mount Olympus of large and powerful lorry brands. All of this despite the fact that the lorries powered by Deutz diesel engines had already gained fame as indestructible on motorways and construction sites alike. No wonder then that the Magirus square hood ranked among WIKING’s best-selling construction vehicles from the get-go. The upcoming delivery is WIKING’s tribute to the last square hood generation – celebrated with a contemporary theme edition. The “German Bulls” are launching in 1:87!
The great Magirus square hood with its mighty Meiller skip
At the time, hundreds of Magirus dump trucks powered by Deutz engines were involved in the building of the Baikal-Amur Main Line, which traverses all of Siberia to provide a dependable supply of gas. The air-cooled vehicles were able to stand up to the gruelling temperatures – a testament to the reliability of the “German Bulls” that could not have been greater. WIKING started making the last square hood generation with the legendary Meiller skip as early as the nineteen seventies. While WIKING was still perpetuating the Magirus-Deutz lettering on the vehicles, the manufacturer from Ulm merged with the French manufacturer Unic and the brands Fiat, OM and Lancia special - all belonging to the Fiat corporation - to form Iveco (Industrial Vehicles Corporation) in 1975. All the same, the traditional model makers have never stopped making model updates to celebrate the grand history of the lorry makers, who were founded in 1864 as a fire brigade equipment manufacturer. Droves of round and square hood models, along with a great number of cab-over-engine miniatures, testify to the era of Magirus models. The “German Bulls” have hit the road at WIKING – even Paul Breitner and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge wore the company’s claim on their jerseys when they played for FC Bayern Munich!
